State of Arizona Archives: on Principles & Values

We have just celebrated all of the achievements of Arizona's first 100 years, and we were reminded of Arizona's "Five C's": copper; cattle; cotton; citrus; and climate. I am here to tell you that our second century will hinge on another "C": Competition

That is the clear answer when I reflect upon what I have learned these past four years, and what has changed across the three decades since I first sat in this chamber.
Today, Arizona must COMPETE for the most desirable jobs for our citizens--the finest teachers in our schools--the most talented students and faculty in our universities.

And each of our citizens must likewise compete to earn a living, build
a future and raise a family in a safe and healthy environment. They face threats that once did not exist. And we at this capitol had better make sure we are helping them--not hurting them--in their efforts.

Source: 2013 State of the State Address to Arizona Legislature
Jan 14, 2013

Jeff Flake:
Vowed not to serve more than 3 terms in Congress; broke vow

Flake was idealistic early on and vowed not to serve more than three terms in Congress. He bailed on that promise and admitted it was a mistake to self-limit.
That aside, he has been a loud opponent of earmarks and has a history of kicking his own party in the shins by not voting with them on some issues.

Source: The Sahuarita Sun on 2012 Arizona Senate debates
May 29, 2012

Richard Carmona:
1999: shot and mortally wounded a deranged murderer

One fall day in 1999, on a busy street in Tucson, Arizona, Dr. Richard Carmona shot and mortally wounded Jean Lafitte, a mentally disturbed man who had just stabbed his own father to death.

Carmona, a Tucson trauma M.D., had been on his way to a
football game when he stopped to deliver first aid at what appeared to be a traffic accident. When he got closer to the scene, bystanders told him Lafitte was armed. Carmona returned to his car, retrieved his Pima County Sheriff Deputy badge and gun,
identified himself repeatedly and warned Lafitte to drop his weapon, news accounts say. Instead, the gunman blasted away at Carmona--one bullet grazed Carmona's head.
Carmona returned fire, mortally wounding Lafitte. Next, he triaged the wounded man. And later, he was credited with saving the lives of bystanders and Lafitte's girlfriend, whom Lafitte was going to kill next.

Richard Carmona:
Classified as disabled veteran from Vietnam wounds

The former U.S. surgeon general downplays the wounds he sustained as a Special Forces medic in Vietnam. (He still wears his medic medal; it dangles from a gold neck chain.) "I am classified as a disabled veteran," he told The Daily Beast recently. "The
reason I'm disabled is because I have wounds and injuries that I got while on active duty--from parachute jumping to combat to gunshot wounds, all that stuff," he said. "I've gotten shot in the head. These injuries are almost all impact & trauma
& blast injuries. When you put your body through all of this stuff over 35 or 40 years in the military or police you pay the price, that's all."

In 1992, he rappeled from a helicopter to deliver medical help to victims of a helicopter crash in the
snowy Arizona mountains. Carting an injured person, he was hauled up to the hovering helicopter. His life seems adrenaline-charged, and he self-identifies both as a law-enforcement officer and a doctor.

Richard Carmona:
Of Puerto Rican descent; grew up poor in Harlem

A Latino of Puerto Rican descent, he grew up poor in Harlem, dropped out of school, joined the Army, got his GED, became a Special Forces medic in Vietnam, then attended medical school in California. After a stint at the National Institutes of Health,
he was recruited to open a trauma center in Arizona, and moved to Tucson with his wife and four kids. He's been a Pima County deputy for years, working part time, of course, and is a trauma physician who teaches at the University of
Arizona medical school. He works for a high-end destination spa company that has a foundation that delivers health help to underserved communities. His narrative draws veterans, women, Latinos, and,
Democrats hope, moderates in sufficient numbers to turn Arizona blue.

'I am not a Hispanic candidate,' Carmona told The Daily Beast. 'I am an American candidate who happens to be of Hispanic heritage.'

Richard Carmona:
Seeks to earn the respect of disenfranchised populations

: Democrats think that Latino turnout in Arizona will be higher than average this year.

A: This is my first rodeo, okay? So I'm not an expert. But I think that there's good reason to believe that I have earned the trust and respect of the Hispanic
community--not just because I'm Hispanic--because I was always there when they needed me as a professor, as a doctor, & as a trauma director here in town. And I've earned the respect all of our Native American brothers and sisters because of my actions.
So I think there's every reason to believe that these populations which are normally disenfranchised--and they don't want to participate because they don't feel anybody really understands them--in me, they have somebody who not only understands, but
who's somebody who's lived their life and has experienced the American dream. And I think that they will entrust me with being their senator because they know that I will always do what is best for them."

Mitt Romney:
My job was to ask Congress for earmarks for Olympics

Q: [to Santorum]: You criticized the money that went to Romney for security at the Olympics as a bad earmark?

SANTORUM: I didn't suggest it was a bad earmark. I voted for it. But Gov. Romney asked for that earmark. His TV ads right now, unfortunately,
attack me for saying that I'm this great earmarker, when he not only asked for earmarks for the Salt Lake Olympics, but also did as the governor of Massachusetts, $300 million. He said, "I would be foolish if I didn't try to get federal dollars."

ROMNEY: I would put a ban on earmarks. He mentioned coming to the Congress, asking for support. No question about it. That's the nature of leading an organization or a state. You come to Congress and you say, these are the things we need.
In the history of the Olympic movement, the federal government has always provided the transportation and security. I was fighting for those things. But while I was fighting to save the Olympics, Santorum was fighting to save the "Bridge to Nowhere."

Source: CNN's 2012 GOP Debate on eve of Arizona Primary
Feb 22, 2012

J.D. Hayworth:
Twice informally ranked among dumbest members of Congress

[In a primary debate] McCain ripped into his principal challenger, the former Arizona congressman J. D. Hayworth--dismissing him by saying that "after he was voted out by his constituents, he became a lobbyist, and after that a talk-show host, and then
after that an infomercial and late-night star."

But it fell to Hayworth, a glib galoot who was twice informally ranked among the dumbest members of Congress during his 12 years in the House, to deliver the dead-on zinger that summed up where
McCain has found himself in this strange and angry political season, struggling not to win the presidency but simply to hold on to the job which defines him, and which is all he has left. "It's really sad to see John McCain, who should be revered
as a statesman, basically reduced to a political shape-shifter," Hayworth said.

So it is. McCain would go on to trounce Hayworth in the August primary, by 24 points, but not before turning himself into an almost unrecognizable political creature.

Rodney Glassman:
Cooperation instead of partisan battering ram

Glassman picked at McCain for his notoriously short fuse, saying he finds it difficult to believe McCain has the diplomacy for contemporary challenges when he has an image of "our short-tempered U.S. senator being rude to
Janet Napolitano just the other day."

Glassman said his own campaign "is about having someone who will work with everyone to find solutions--not just serve as a partisan battering ram trying to accomplish nothing except
self-aggrandizement and furthering their political future."

McCain, with few exceptions, ignored Glassman's attempts at eye contact as well as his verbal jabs, even when the
Democrat directly challenged him to more debates, saying it was "disrespectful" to voters to limit his appearance to 60 minutes in exchange for a six-year term.

J.D. Hayworth:
McCain has been reduced to a political shape-shifter

McCain hammered Hayworth for his work as a registered lobbyist & infomercial pitchman after losing his re-election bid in 2006. Hayworth has stumbled since video surfaced of his appearance in a 2007 infomercial hawking free government money on behalf of
Florida company accused of charging thousands of dollars for information that was readily available online or at a public library.

"These are the facts," McCain said. "J.D. Hayworth was a lobbyist. He was in late-night infomercials. He said he didn't d
due diligence. My God man, didn't you know that this was a group that was taking people's money to say it could give them free government money."

Hayworth said, "It's really sad to see John McCain, who should be revered as a statesman, basically reduce
to a political shape-shifter," he said, then turned to his opponent. "John, you've changed positions so much in this campaign maybe we'll have to set up an extra podium for you depending on which John McCain is going to answer which question."

Rudy Garcia:
Born, raised, and worked in Arizona

Rudy was born in Nogales, AZ and raised in Douglas. He served in the US Army and was honorably discharged, was a steel worker with Bethlehem Steel in California for 20 years until the plant closed, then founded the non-profit
Willie C. Velasquez Center that led to the education and naturalization of more than 100,000 legal immigrants

Rudy Garcia:
Recalled entire Bell Gardens City Council then became Mayor

Rudy initiated and carried out the first successful recall in the US of a TOTAL corrupt city council in Bell Gardens, CA, then became a member of the City Council and then Mayor of Bell Gardens, CA for more than 8 years.

But most important, this administration doesnít know how to keep America safe.

The frustrating thing is that my opponent seems ok with this. Heís ok with where we are and
maintaining the status quo. He rubber-stamps this misguided administration. Itís time for a change. Not the status quo, and not a rubber stamp. My opponentís been back in Washington for 20 years. That cityís broken.
Itís time to fix things. Iíve proven in my career that Iím pretty good at fixing things. Send me back there to fix it. And remember, you canít change Washington until you change the people you send there.

Source: Arizona 2006 Senate debate at KPHO in Phoenix
Oct 15, 2006

Jon Kyl:
My opponent is out of mainstream on judges & terrorism

My opponent says we need a new direction, but for Arizona thatís the wrong direction. Take three issues: judges, immigration, terrorism.

Heís running an ad that criticizes me for voting to confirm Sam Alito and John Roberts. That shows just how
far out of the mainstream he is.

On immigration, he thinks illegal immigrants should get US citizenship. He flip-flops on the border fence. He opposes IDs at the polls.

On terrorism, he should tell us not how to leave, but how to win.

Source: Arizona 2006 Senate debate at KPHO in Phoenix
Oct 15, 2006

Orrin Hatch:
23 years of experience fighting for you

I have more experience in fighting for you than [any other candidates]. I have a record of accomplishment that I donít think can be matched. I have a reputation for bringing those diverse elements together in Washington and getting things done. Look, I
wasnít born to wealth. We were dirt poor. I understand you. Iíve been fighting for you for 23 solid years. And Iím not just talking about it. Iíve done it. I want to serve you and if youíll give me the chance, I guarantee I wonít let you down.